BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army freed four Syrians kidnapped by the Meqdad clan last month during a raid on Beirut's southern suburbs, the clan spokesperson said Tuesday, adding that the Turkish businessman the Meqdads abducted has gone missing.
 
Security sources confirmed that the Army freed the Syrians but said that soldiers were checking their identities to confirm that they are the ones who were abducted last month.
 
The Meqdad clan spokesperson, Maher, said the army raided four neighborhoods home to the clan's so-called "military wing."
 
"The Syrians were freed but I was told that [Aydin Tufan] Tekin was shot either in the chest or shoulder during the raid. We do not know who fired the shots but I'm sure it is not the Army," Meqdad told The Daily Star.
 
"Some [Meqdad] family members have instructed the men holding Tekin that if the Army comes to free him, they should be given a corpse," he added.
 
On Aug. 15, the Meqdads said they kidnapped over 20 Syrians and a Turkish businessman in retaliation for the abduction of their relative, Hassan Meqdad, in Syria by the Free Syrian Army.
 
The clan released all but four Syrians and the Turk late last month.
 
Meanwhile, reports quoted the little-known "Al-Mukhtar al-Thaqafi Brigades" as saying they freed all their abductees: the Syrians and a Turkish truck driver Abdulbasit Arslan, 56. The Army could not confirm the report.
 
The armed group kidnapped 10 Syrians along with a Turk early last month, demanding the release of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims snatched on May 22 in Syria shortly after crossing from Turkey.